A 17-YEAR-OLD girl whose friend was stabbed to death in a gang attack shows off a terrifying haul of weapons she amassed in two hours.

Hannah Turner was sold the deadly array of martial arts swords, meat cleavers and machetes although under age.

She bought 14 knives from seven shops in gang-scarred South London.

The Sunday Express dossier is particularly disturbing as gangs are increasingly using young girls to buy knives because they are less conspicuous and target hardware stores because shopkeepers rarely ask questions. By law they can sell knives only to over-18s, who must show ID, yet Hannah was asked her age just twice and got turned down only once.

Her worrying experience comes two years after her friend Yemurai Kanyangarara, 16, was stabbed to death in Welling, Kent, by two pupils from a rival school.

His killers carried household knives in their shoes as part of a gang war between the schools.

Christina Edkins was stabbed to death on a bus

I was shocked by how many knives I was able to buy.

Hannah Turner

Our expose also follows the horrific stabbing of Christina Edkins, also 16, who died during a random attack on a bus in Birmingham last month.

Art student Hannah said: "My heart goes out to Christina's family. I'm not much older than her. It shows that it could happen to any of us.

"I was shocked by how many knives I was able to buy. It is an issue close to my heart because my friend was also stabbed to death as he was getting off the bus from school."

Hannah was sold two 20ins long metal butterfly swords used in Kung Fu for £39.95 at a Catford martial arts outlet.

They are designed to be easily concealed under clothing and can be swung into action quickly in a combat technique known as "flipping". Elsewhere she bought a Chinese broadsword for £38 and a 1ft machete for £9. Richard Taylor, father of Damilola who was stabbed to death in Peckham, South London, wants stricter checks. He said: "It is shocking a 17-year-old could buy such things as machetes."